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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAMENDED Agenda Packet 2-10-20 Work SessionFebruary 10, 2020, Work Session AMENDED AGENDA EUGENE CITY COUNCIL February 10, 2020 5:30 p.m. CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION Harris Hall, 125 East 8th Avenue Eugene, Oregon 97401 Meeting of February 10, 2020; Her Honor Mayor Lucy Vinis Presiding Councilors Emily Semple, President Jennifer Yeh, Vice President Mike Clark Greg Evans Chris Pryor Claire Syrett Betty Taylor Alan Zelenka Note: This amended agenda reflects the addition of Item 1. 5:30 p.m. CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION 1. EXECUTIVE SESSION: Pursuant to ORS 192.660(2)(e) 2. WORK SESSION: Town Square Project Update February 10, 2020, Work Session For the hearing impaired, an interpreter can be provided with 48 hours' notice prior to the meeting. Spanish-language interpretation will also be provided with 48 hours' notice. To arrange for these services, contact the receptionist at 541-682-5010. City Council meetings are telecast live on Metro Television, Comcast channel 21, and rebroadcast later in the week. El consejo de la Ciudad de Eugene agradece su interés en estos asuntos de la agenda. El lugar de la reunión tiene acceso para sillas de ruedas. Se puede proveer a un intérprete para las personas con discapacidad auditiva si avisa con 48 horas de anticipación. También se puede proveer interpretación para español si avisa con 48 horas de anticipación. Para reservar estos servicios llame al 541-682-5010. Las reuniones del consejo de la ciudad se transmiten en vivo por Metro Television, Canal 21 de Comcast y son retransmitidas durante la semana. For more information, contact the Council Coordinator at 541-682-5010 or visit us online at www.eugene-or.gov. February 10, 2020, Work Session – Item 2 EUGENE CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY Work Session: Town Square Project Update Meeting Date: February 10, 2020 Agenda Item Number: 2 Department: Planning and Development Staff Contact: Will Dowdy www.eugene-or.gov Contact Telephone Number: 541-682-5340 ISSUE STATEMENT This work session continues City Council’s December 9, 2019, discussion of topics pertaining to the design of City Hall. The design team is facing decision points on key aspects of the project and council direction on these will allow the design of the new City Hall to continue as efficiently as possible. Staff will provide more information on these topics and other material requested by council in a memo prior to the work session. BACKGROUND The City of Eugene is working to accommodate the current and future needs of Eugene’s City Hall and the Lane County Farmers Market, while reimagining the existing Park Blocks and restoring the Town Square with the recovery of the northwest block (occupied today by the Butterfly Lot). The vision is to locate efficient and accessible government services, provide a permanent location for a year-round public Farmers Market, create a central gathering space for both the immediate neighborhood and broader community, strengthen 8th Avenue as downtown’s connection to the river, and continue the momentum of downtown revitalization. In June 2017, City Council, in partnership with the Lane County Board of Commissioners, announced the agreement for the City to acquire the Butterfly Lot property as the future home of the Farmers Market and City Hall. In May 2019, City Council gave further endorsement to the Town Square project by authorizing the design work for a City Hall on the Butterfly Lot site as part of the planning for the Town Square, and in October, the Agency Board authorized further design work for the Park Blocks and Farmers Market based on the Concept Design. Project Status The Town Square Project is moving into a preliminary design phase. Landscape architect Cameron McCarthy and architect FFA are working with their specialty consultants (civil, structural, mechanical, electrical, lighting and sustainability) to refine the design from a concept level to schematic that can be more accurately assessed for cost, schedule and phasing strategies. Before the project team can fully understand the scope, schedule and cost of the City Hall building, a series of decisions will need to be made, including the following topics: February 10, 2020, Work Session – Item 2 Additional Community Uses Information provided for 12/9/19: Given the urban context of City Hall, it is not surprising that community members have shared ideas about integrating other uses or functions in the building. This would increase the hours of activity in the building and as well as being a way to emphasize the open and accessible character of the new City Hall. After reviewing the initial City Hall program, FFA has suggested that there may be opportunities to design the City Council chamber and work session room as flexible spaces that can also serve as community meeting rooms, addressing a need for more of these spaces in Eugene. Another idea from the community outreach has been to add floors of leasable real estate above City Hall, whether office or residential, and either subsidized or market rate. Underground Parking Information provided for 12/9/19: Throughout the public engagement of the Concept Design, community members expressed differing opinions about the value of parking at the Town Square. Cameron McCarthy and the City’s Parking Services team investigated the feasibility and desirability of maintaining underground parking beneath the City Hall and/or Farmers Market block. Their analysis found that the parking would be significantly more expensive than building structured parking (above ground) elsewhere in downtown. New options in the parking system, including the opening of Lane County’s lot, newly leased space for public parking in the 13th and Olive garage, and the launch of the EmGo program, have helped mitigate capacity concerns in the Town Square area and indicate that the preferred location for any significant parking investment would be in other locations. Additionally, FFA has noted that the inclusion of parking underneath the Farmers Market block would have significant schedule implications, delaying the opening and impacting the operations of the Lane County Farmers Market. Environmental Sustainability Information provided for 12/9/19: Council has clearly expressed values of environmental sustainability and has adopted a standard of LEED Silver for new public buildings. FFA and their subconsultant, Brightworks Sustainability, are exploring the likely credits that City Hall can achieve to meet this requirement under the US Green Building Council’s newly released (and more stringent) LEED 4.0. The work of FFA and Brightworks will include collaboration with City staff around aligning LEED credits with City priorities. Information on alternatives to LEED will be provided by memo. Seismic Standards Information provided for 12/9/19: Beyond the basics of life safety, seismic standards are relevant to conversations about community resilience to natural disasters and environmental sustainability. The typical tiers of seismic design correspond to performance objectives for the building in the face of a major seismic event: Life Safety – is the typical standard for new office buildings. The building is designed to enable all occupants to safely exit but it may be structurally compromised. Demolition and rebuilding may be more economical than repair. February 10, 2020, Work Session – Item 2 Immediate Occupancy – is the standard for buildings (including some essential facilities and community shelters) that are needed to continue in operation, even if the building’s mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems are not functioning. These facilities can be central to community rebuilding efforts and can be repaired as time and resources allow. Operational – is the highest standard and is for buildings that need to perform at the same capacity the day after a major seismic event as the day before it. These buildings require a significant investment to ensure that the mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems are consistently functioning. There are higher design and construction costs for buildings that achieve a higher seismic standard. These costs can be significant and are partially dependent on other factors, including the underlying soils, the building size, and the building height. Additional information will be provided by memo. Proposed Next Steps and Timeline Related to the Town Square Project Additional work sessions in spring 2020 to review refined designs and cost estimates for all three parts of the Town Square (the Park Blocks, Farmers Market and City Hall), and for council direction on continuing with final architectural drawings Construction drawings for the Park Blocks and Farmers Market completed in summer 2020; and construction drawings for the City Hall completed in fall 2020 Council/Agency Board decisions in summer/fall 2020 about authorizing construction Construction for the Park Blocks and Farmers Market completed in spring 2021; and construction for the City Hall completed in spring 2022 PREVIOUS COUNCIL / AGENCY BOARD DIRECTION June 13, 2016, Agency Board Meeting The Downtown Urban Renewal Agency Board amended the Downtown Urban Renewal Plan to include the Park Blocks and Farmers Market as new projects. December 14, 2016, Work Session Following the Coordinated Downtown Development report by Cameron McCarthy, which explored location options for City Hall, the Lane County Courthouse and Farmers Market, City Council deliberated over the preferred option of the three scenarios described in the analysis. Council directed the City Manager to negotiate the purchase of the Butterfly Lot and sale of the former City Hall site, for the purpose of implementing “Scenario C,” a City Hall and Farmers Market on the site of the Butterfly Lot. June 26, 2017, City Council Work Session and Agency Board Meeting City Council authorized the City Manager to purchase the Butterfly Lot from Lane County to be the site of the new City Hall. Immediately following this action, a meeting of the Urban Renewal Agency Board was convened, and the Board directed the Agency Director to purchase the Butterfly Lot to be the site of an expanded Farmers Market. February 10, 2020, Work Session – Item 2 May 15, 2019, City Council Work Session City Council authorized the City Manager to take the necessary next steps to design City Hall for the Butterfly Lot in planning for the Town Square. October 30, 2019, Agency Board Work Session The Agency Board directed the Agency Director to advance the Town Square design based on the proposed Concept Design and return for work sessions in early 2020. COUNCIL OPTIONS 1. Provide the City Manager with City Hall design direction via motion on some or all the four topic areas. 2. Direct City Manager to return to Council for further discussion on one or more of the four topic areas. SUGGESTED MOTIONS 1. Leasable Space: Move to direct the City Manager to design City Hall without additional floors of leasable real estate. or Move to direct the City Manager to design City Hall with additional floors of leasable real estate, beyond what is needed for City Hall functions. 2. Underground Parking: Move to direct the City Manager to design City Hall without underground parking. or Move to direct the City Manager to design City Hall with underground parking. 3. Environmental Sustainability: Move to direct the City Manager to design City Hall to achieve LEED Silver certification. or Move to direct the City Manager to design City Hall to achieve [other sustainability standard] 4. Seismic Standards: Move to direct the City Manager to design City Hall to a Life Safety seismic standard. or Move to direct the City Manager to design City Hall to a seismic standard above Life Safety, with the intent of City Hall being repairable after an earthquake. or Move to direct the City Manager to design City Hall to an Immediate Occupancy seismic standard. ATTACHMENTS February 10, 2020, Work Session – Item 2 None FOR MORE INFORMATION Staff Contact: Will Dowdy Telephone: 541-682-5340 Staff E-Mail: wdowdy@eugene-or.gov